Page Toppers

Quotes

Across the river was the town of Austinville, small and pleasant. (Noah Adams)

At sunset on the New River at Radford the gold light flickers through the trees and gleams off the water. The settlers' accounts, from this region, speak of the "pale green light" in the land they called the Great Forest. (Noah Adams)

Thickly planted with trees, Charlottesville in its natural bowl appears as an immense many pavilioned garden. (WPA Guide to Virginia, 1940)

The town was prosperous through the wars but lost its high school in 1953 and then the elementary school, and when the last big plant shut down, the vines started growing over Ivanhoe. (Noah Adams)

Virginia Symbols

Nicknames: The Old Dominion State; Mother of Presidents (8 presidents were born in VA); Mother of States; Where the South Begins

Virginia is for Lovers

Motto: Thus Always to Tyrants

Song Emeritus: Carry Me Back to Old Virginia (words and music by James A. Bland)

Folk Dance: Square Dance

Dog: American Foxhound

Bird: Northern Cardinal

Fish: Brook Trout

Insect: Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Tree: Flowering Dogwood

Flower: American Dogwood

Shell: Oyster Shell

Fossil: Chesapecten jeffersonius

Beverage: Milk

Facts About Virginia

Capital: Richmond (was also the capital of the Confederacy)

Residents: Virginians

State Name Origin: named after Queen Elizabeth I of England (known as the "Virgin Queen")

The Virginia State Flag
The flag, adopted in 1776, is a deep blue rectangle. The state seal is in the center. Around the seal is the state motto "Sic Semper Tyrannis" ("Thus Always to Tyrants"). The seal has a scene with two figures acting out the meaning of the motto. They are dressed as warriors. The woman, named "Virtue", represents Virginia. The man is holding a scourge and chain to show he is a tyrant. His fallen crown is on the ground nearby.

You know you are from Virginia if...

Speed limits are just suggestions.

You have at least two friends who have no idea what their relatives do...because its "top secret" government work.

Most of your senior class went to Mason, JMU, Tech, VCU or UVA.

When people ask where you're from, you tell them DC because its easier to explain.

You've never told someone you're from Virginia without putting "northern," "central," or "southern" in front of it. (see above)

It's not actually tailgating unless your bumper is touching the car in front of you.

You know a yellow light means at least five more cars can get through. (Yeah, man...at least.) A red light means two more can.

You actually know what the black boxes at stoplights are for.

Despite the fact that Virginia fought for the south in the Civil War, you are not, under any circumstances, a "southerner".

You are amused by visiting relatives who are actually excited to see Washington, DC.

You took a field trip to Williamsburg as a kid.

You are amazed when you go out of town and the people at McDonalds speak English.

You or someone in your family has a Smart Tag.

An inch of snow and you miss three days of school.

All the potholes just add a little excitement to your driving experience.

Crown Victoria = undercover cop

Subway is a fast food place. The transportation system is known as Metro, and only Metro.

They just tore down the old farm house across the street and put twelve new McMansions in its place.

For the cost of your house, you could own a small town in Iowa.

If you stay on the same road long enough, it will eventually have three new names.

You have to dial the area code to call your neighbor.

"Vacation" means spending a day at King's Dominion or Busch Gardens.

"Going to the River" means any stream with water.

You have never been served tea without the waitress asking "sweet or unsweetened?"

Your favorite past time is telling West Virginia jokes.

Anyone who can't trace his or her ancestry back to at least four generations in Virginia is an outsider.

"Going to the beach" means going to Virginia Beach, Hatteras, or Nags Head.

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Virginia.